Myotis escalerai is a medium-sized, mostly gray bat, with lighter underparts. It has a pointed muzzle, a pink face, and long ears. The wings are broad and the species is an agile flyer. The conservation status of M. escalerai is assessed as ‘Vulnerable’ or ‘Data Deficient’
About Escalera’s bat in brief
Myotis escalerai is a medium-sized, mostly gray bat, with lighter underparts. It has a pointed muzzle, a pink face, and long ears. The wings are broad and the species is an agile flyer. The conservation status of M. escalerai is assessed as ‘Vulnerable’ or ‘Data Deficient’ It is found in Spain, Portugal, and far southern France. It was first named in 1904, but was included in Natterer’s bat. molecular studies, first published in 2006, demonstrated that the two are distinct species. The species spends each winter in hibernation colonies, usually in caves or basements. Populations in the mountains of northern Spain represent another species, which is now also known from the Alps.
The fur is long and soft; with a brown tone on the back, and the brighter underparts on the face. The feet are dark gray, with long hairs on the upper lip resembling a moustache. The tragus, a projection on the inner side of the inner ear, is long, and reaches to the middle of the outer ear. A specialist bat specialist, A. Hutson, shows a distinct fringe on the tail membrane of the bat, showing that it differs from M. nattereri in a number of ways. M. Escalerai and M. zenatius are estimated to have diverged about 2 million years ago. It is most closely related to an unnamed species from Morocco, and more distantly to other members of the Myotis nattreri group.
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This page is based on the article Escalera’s bat published in Wikipedia (as of Oct. 30, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
